


Who's Batman?

by jakepurralta



Series: Jake and Amy play video games [1]
Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: Batman - Freeform, F/M, Fluff, Minor Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-27
Updated: 2015-06-27
Packaged: 2018-04-06 10:32:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4218354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jakepurralta/pseuds/jakepurralta
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I still don't believe you quite grasp the legitimacy of Batman's awesomeness, Ames."</p><p>Or: Jake and Amy spend a Friday evening together playing Batman Arkham Asylum and Jake finds out she's a quick learner, among other things. And Amy finds out that Batman may just be one of the coolest superhero detectives ever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Who's Batman?

**Author's Note:**

> I am a gamer at heart. So, regardless of whether or not Jake and Amy like video games (I hear some people actually - gasps - hate video games) I will occasionally write something inspired by a video game. If Jake and Amy turn out to be one of those people who dislike video games, then consider it an AU. If, at some point in the show, they mention that they do not dislike video games... you can expect me to squirm in a corner somewhere because mama's goin' graspin' and that's enough for me. I decided to write this story after playing Batman Arkham Asylum. If there's demand for it, I'm considering writing something based on a horror game, which will involve a lot of either Jake or Amy screaming and inching closer towards the other. For the sake of this story, Jake and Amy haven't kissed before and everything at the 99 is still fine and nothing's on fire!

"You're kidding."

"Jake, that's like the fifth time you've said that. I'm _not_ kidding." Amy sighs in exasperation, typing away on her keyboard with increased force in an attempt to distract herself from Jake's piercing (and baffled) eyes.

"I just don't get it- how can you not like Batman?"

"Wow, you are just not listening to me, aren't you? I said, I don't know much about Batman, which is why I can't form an opinion about him."

He throws his arms up in the air in exasperation. "I still can't believe it. You grew up with _seven brothers_ , how can at least one of them not expose you to one of the best superheroes ever created? Who is, by the way, also a super skilled detective. Didn't at least one of them read comics? Watch movies? Play video games? Go _outside_?"

"Hm," Amy tilts her head pensively. "my youngest brother Bruno does play video games. I think he mentioned buying a Batman game recently."

"Arkham Knight!" Savant suddenly appears out of nowhere, startling both Jake and Amy in the process. "Sorry," he quickly said, perceiving the discomfort in the detectives' body language. "I'm a gamer. Mention something related to video games within a 500 ft radius and I _will_ personally hear the rest of that conversation."

Jake shifts in his seat, focusing his attention back on Amy. "Well, since you're here, will you tell detective Santiago that she's crazy for 'not knowing much about Batman'?" He dramatically emphasizes the last part of his sentence which earns him a nasty glare.

Savant, feeling very much like he's stuck in the crossfire of an argument he probably shouldn't get involved in, anxiously shifts his weight from one feet to the other, his graps on the files he is holding tightening. "Uh, well, I suppose it is a little strange. Batman has existed since 1939." He turns to look at Amy and tries his hardest not to sound accusatory. "You had plenty of time to catch up on him."

He failed, and Amy crosses her arms defensively, feeling a bit backed into the corner with both Jake and Savant staring at her. Savant's expression is a mixture of apologetic and uncomfortable, whereas Jake is just wearing the usual shit-eating grin that he wears when he thinks he's won. She bites back the urge to go over to his side and smack him on the back of his head. The mental image of her doing that satisfies her sufficiently for now. "What makes Batman so great, anyway?"

She hears Jake jolt back into his seat with a gasp and she knows he's about to turn this once innocent conversation into full-blown precinct wide commotion, so she hushes him with the raise of a hand and nods at Savant. "Well?"

Savant looks a bit more at ease now that she's taken charge. "Unlike most superheroes, Batman doesn't actually have any powers. Instead, he uses his intellect, technology, wealth, detective and martial arts skills to fight crime. He's basically a self-made man. Plus, he goes after a lot of criminals, but he never kills them. Batman doesn't kill people. He has a sense of justice that restrains his need to avenge the death of his parents."

Amy nods slowly, seemingly pleased with Savant's answer. After a brief moment of silence, Jake apparently decides that he's been silent for long enough and leans forward on his chair. "I still don't believe you quite grasp the legitimacy of Batman's awesomeness, Ames."

She look back at him, lips in a thin line, though her annoyance is only mild. He can tease her all he wants but for some reason she'll never truly get mad at him. She'll never tell him that, of course. He'd never let her live that down.

"I would make an amazing Batman." He says in a Batman voice that's actually pretty accurate. "Except, of course, I'm not rich, not a philanthropist, my parents haven't been brutally murdered when I was little, I don't have a butler or a million cool hi-tech gadgets."

He's now done talking, wordlessly looking back at her, his lips curled up ever so slightly, his eyes gleaming. She can only guess he's trying to plot something in his head in an attempt to 'fix the current situation'.

"Uh," Savant says after a minute that only felt incredibly uncomfortable to him. He turns back to Jake. "if it bothers you that much, why don't you help her catch up with Batman? If you're so offended about her lack of knowledge, you must have a movie or game at home."

Jake tears himself out of the apparent staring contest with Amy and shakes his head. "Unfortunately, the crushing debt doesn't really allow me to have many DVDs, let alone own a PlayStation to play Batman games on."

"I have a PlayStation and Arkham Asylum that you can borrow for a little bit if you want." Savant says before he even realizes what he's about to offer.

Jake is surprised at Savant's generosity. "Really? I mean, that would be awesome, but you don't have to-"

Savant smiles politely. "Don't worry about it. I'm a PC gamer for the most part. My PlayStation 3's just collecting dust these days. I won't miss it for a few days."

"Huh." Jake utters, momentarily feeling bad because a kid like him can afford a PlayStation and he's usually goes 'eenie miney moo' to see which bills get paid first in a month. He shrugs the nasty feeling away into a far corner of his mind, much like he does to many of his other emotions and stand up from his chair, patting Savant on the shoulder. "Okay then. Amy Santiago, I challenge you to a game night at my place this weekend."

"This weekend already? I could have plans, you know."

"You could, but we both know you don't."

She opens her mouth, ready to snap back at him, but she knows she has no real comeback. So she just leans back into her chair and glares at him.

"Great!" Jake cheers. "Then it's settled." Another pat on Savant's shoulder. "Thank you, Savant." He then twists around, pointing both his fingers at her. "And you, bring popcorn and your A-game. I'm about to blow you away with my mad skillz."

* * *

_Damn it, did Savant just set us up on a date?!_

It takes Jake a really long time to get to that thought. It's 7pm on a Friday night and Captain Holt allowed him to head home earlier after he finished his paperwork. To be fair, his hastened handwriting was _so_ atrocious that Holt (begrudgingly) acknowledged the fact that Jake was in dire need of his weekend, so he allowed him to go home at 6pm, after Jake repeatedly promised to do better next weekend. Word around the precinct obviously spread fast after Jake and Amy made plans to hang out that Friday, so Holt also knew about his appointment that night. The Captain didn't want to spend too much time speculating just what his detectives would be up to together (put Peralta and Santiago alone in a room together, who knows what'll happen?), but Gina insisted that their little nerdy get together would most definitely result in them falling asleep together on Jake's crummy couch.

Amy, who was gone for most of that day with Rosa, sent him a text message a few hours ago, confirming their appointment for the night and promising that she'd be there sharply at 8 with popcorn, soda and 'her A-game'. Neither of them dare to call their social engagement a date.

 _It's not a date._ Jake tells himself repeatedly, as he fumbles around with the HDMI cable of Savant's PlayStation. _It's just two good friends hanging out together, playing Batman, having a good time._ He pulls his TV a bit forward ever so slightly and peers over it to find the HDMI slot. Whatever his feelings for Amy are, he does consider her one of his best friends and reminding himself of that does offer him some comfort whenever his foolish heart considers thinking of her as a bit more than just a friend. "There," he says to nobody in particular as he pushes the cable into its intended slot.

He pushes the on button and the console beeps, the PlayStation start up screen now on his television in lieu of a black screen. He looks down at the controller, briefly overwhelmed by all of the buttons he'll have to remember that night. It's been a long while since he last played a video game, and with Amy here tonight, he's unsure if he can even manage to play properly.

He looks at the screen and notes that he still has plenty of time until Amy arrives. He knows that if she promised to be here at 8pm, she'll be here at 8pm. Not 7:30, not 7:55, God forbid, not 8:02.

He contemplates spending some time familiarizing himself with the controls about the same time his brain reminds him that he hasn't taken a shower since he came home. He decides to go take a shower and pick out some clean clothes. It won't take him that long anyway. Heck, he might even have some time to wash a dish or two.

(He doesn't end up washing a dish or two.)

(He ends up feeling genuinely nauseated because he can't decide if he wants to wear a recently ironed red plaid shirt or a casual t-shirt that says "we're friends, I'm casual, and this event is casual, we're all so very casual here".)

-

"It's totally a date." Rosa states coolly.

"Hm," Gina purrs. "I can totally picture Amy curling up into Jake's chest as she drifts into sleep later tonight."

"You really think so?" Charles sounds way too excited for his own good. "Man, I can't wait to ask Jakey all about it Monday. I'll text him tomorrow maybe. Ah, definitely! I can't contain myself now, let alone tomorrow."

The Sarge emerged from behind, slinging his bag over his shoulder. "Guys, it's Friday evening. Can we re-schedule gossiping about our co-workers to next week? I can't wait to get home to my wife and kids."

Gina shrugs nonchalantly. "Say what you want, Terry, but you're _voluntarily_ standing here with us."

"Yeah, because we're waiting for the elevator!"

Gina just hums in disbelief and Terry decides to let it know, knowing that he doesn't have the energy to argue with her right now. But, he can admit (only to himself) that he's at least a little bit interested in finding out how Jake and Amy's night will proceed.

* * *

_It's not a date._

She repeats the words inside her head like a mantra as she makes her way up the stairs of Jake's apartment. The sentence was certainly less jitter-inducing than the alternative (it _is_ a date).

When she arrives at his door, she takes a deep breath, pushing the thought away. It's pretty simple, really. Jake makes her laugh and she's here to have a good time with him. He's her friend. She enjoys spending time with him.

(She also sometimes dreams about waking up next to him, but that's besides the point.)

She rolls her eyes at a Post-It note pasted on his door that says "door bell broken". If she didn't know him that well, she probably wouldn't be able to decipher the message on account of the terrible way it was hastily scribbled on the paper. She has a five year old nephew whose handwriting is way clearer than Jake's.

She knocks three times. _Tap, tap, tap._

After a moment of silence, she hears some noise on the other side of the door. The door unlocks and she offers him a sheepish grin as she shows him the bag she's holding which contains a box of popcorn and a bottle of orange juice. "Brought the popcorn."

"Amy!" he exclaims, and she thinks about how he kind of reminds her of the dogs she always sees in movies whose tails wag excitedly as their owners come home. "Eight o'clock, right on the dot. You're like a little cuckoo clock." His bona fide smile is intoxicating and she has no choice but to return it with the same amount of brightness. That's who he just is. He can poke fun of her for anything and everything, but whenever she thinks she's handed him another insult on a silver platter, he goes right ahead and lets her know that it's just another thing he admires her for.

While he's (apparently) busy being mesmerized by how punctual she is, she notes that he's not wearing the same outfit he wore to work that day. Instead, he's casually attired in a button down shirt and dark blue jeans, his bare toes poking out from under the edges. "Cute toes," she wants to say, but fortunately for her own sanity, she stops herself.

"Uh, come in." He steps aside and as she brushes past him, she catches a whiff of his peach scented body gel. She's never told him (nor will she, this is yet another thing to put on her 'do not tell Jake Peralta' list) but she loves it. When she first met him, he has made it abundantly clear to her that he has little interest in anything that doesn't involve "putting bad guys in prison", so naturally, things like 'showering' and 'properly eating' didn't make it very high on his priority list. She likes to think that she has something to do with the fact that he ended up putting more effort into taking care of himself.

She disappears into his kitchen to prepare the popcorn, insisting, "Jake, it's just popcorn. I promise I won't find a way to screw that up." He lets her go after informing her that the PlayStation is already on the Batman start screen and that "time's a wasting".

She doesn't screw up the popcorn (because she was anxiously peering through his microwave's window throughout the whole process) and puts it in a bowl she's surprised he has. She then proceeds to take two glasses out of his cabinet and locks them under her right arm as she holds the bowl of popcorn in her left hand and the bottle of orange juice in her right.

"Y'know, I wanted to help with that," he says with an apologetic pout as he watches her carefully shuffle back into the living room.

"I got it," she just says, even though she's not sure she does. She bends over and puts the bowl on the coffee table. But before she can use her now free hand to take the stacked glasses from under her arm, Jake has already helped her out with that. She can't quite put her finger on it, but she's both grateful and embarrassed. She silently convinces herself she's mostly grateful because it's the normal thing to do.

It's almost as though he knows exactly how she feels (not completely at ease), so he takes the controller and starts the game without saying anything that might make her even more uncomfortable. She sits down next to him, intentionally not thinking about the fact that her hip momentarily brushes past his.

The credits of the game appear on the screen as a man with a clown face, who Jake says is the Joker, is strapped to a gurney and wheeled into an asylum. The introduction part requires little effort from Jake, so he takes the time to explain tidbits of the story. He tells her about who the Joker is and why Batman is so wary of him. She chuckles at the Joker's incessant talking despite the multiple weapons that are trained on him and mentions how he kind of reminds her of Jake. Even though she just compared him to Batman's arch nemesis, he's not offended by it in the slightest. Jake just shrugs and tells her that he'd make a great Joker.

"You'd make a terrible Joker," she responds to that. "clearly, Joker is the bad guy. You're not a bad guy, Jake. Not in any universe."

While she means it with all of her heart, her words are just as surprising to her as they are to him. There's something gentle in her voice that makes him turn his head and he looks at her, chestnut eyes giving her a comforting sense of domesticity. Almost as if she needs to spend her evenings with Jake to make her feel like her days are complete.

She frees herself from the hold that is his gaze and nods at the screen. "Batman stopped walking."

"Oh," he pushes the L3 button forward again. "Sorry, I forgot he's completely dependent on all of my actions." He sounds strangely proud about having the ability to make a CGI character move places by pushing a button, but she just shrugs it off.

They continue to focus on Jake's adequately sized television screen, their bodies now unwittingly attached together, shoulder to shoulder. He feels her constant breathing and she feels his body heat radiating on her bare arms. It is strange how easy it is for them to be so at ease with each other.

After the Joker, the first intimidating inmate Jake and Amy are introduced to is a man with a grotesque body and a mutation that has made his skin green and scaly. Even though the creature - who the Joker refers to as Croc - is chained up, Jake is still on edge, anticipating an escape and possible fight. By now, Amy has pulled out her phone, reading about Croc's background from the game's Wikia page.

"Killer Croc. His actual name is Waylon Jones. He was born with a mutation disease and raised by an alcoholic aunt while his peers bullied him relentlessly for his appearance. Aww, that's sad. His mental state deteriorated just as rapidly as his physical state, and he eventually accepted his fate as a beast." Her words seem to fall on deaf ears. Jake's eyes is still focused on the screen as Killer Croc stomped away, announcing that he was going to escape as Batman simply watched him leave. "Are you even listening to me?" She nudges his side and he mutters something absentmindedly. "If he was raised in a loving environment, I'm sure none of this would've happened. He'd still have his disease, but he wouldn't be so vitriolic on the inside."

He gives her a pointed look at that and she looks away, flustered. "Vitriolic? What does that even mean?"

"Bitter, Jake. It means bitter."

"Fun fact: if you want to say bitter, you can just say 'bitter'."

Amy chuckled. "If I had done that, you wouldn't have learned a new word today."

"Okay," Jake says, and she's not sure if he really means it or if he just doesn't feel like bickering about it any longer. "but if you must pretend we're in school here, it's _Batman_ school."

She shrugs and watches as Jake makes Batman enter an elevator with the Joker and two guards. "Alright, I was just trying to say that I personally don't think diseases make monsters. People make monsters." She knows he'll agree with her statement.

"True dat."

* * *

They continue to watch the intro sequence in brief moments of silence and other moments in which Jake tells her about what's happening on screen. At some point, she realizes that the gameplay doesn't require much else from Jake than just making Batman run around from one place to another, occasionally opening ventilation shafts or using his grappling hook to reach higher places.

"You know, if the game is just Batman going from point A to point B, I could do this with my eyes closed," she says teasingly, obviously trying to get a rise out of him.

He takes the bait. "Of course it's not difficult yet, this is the first part! You have to ease the player into the game."

She shakes her head, her chin tilted and a smirk across her face. She's about to vocally hit him back when he surprises her by shoving the controller into her hands.

"Fine. If you think you can do better than me, by all means." His words sound snappy but when she looks at him, it appears that his face didn't get the memo. Her eyes fall down to the controller, which has some lingering warmth left from his grasp. He nudges her gently. "Go for it."

When she expresses the fact that she doesn't actually know what buttons do what ("There are like, 15 buttons on this thing! Including the weird circle things!"), he doesn't tease her for it. Instead, he reaches out and puts her fingers on 'the weird circle things' which are apparently called the L3 and R3 buttons. She can't ignore the fact that her breath catches in her throat as he explains to her that L3 is for the movement of Batman and R3 is for the position of the camera. She swears that he's equally nervous, because his breathing sounds quicker than it usually is and he avoids looking at her directly.

She kinda feels like a child that's suddenly thrown into the deep, because not long after she takes over the helm, the Joker escapes from captivity and she - Batman - finds herself surrounded by five goons. "What do I do? What do I do?" she sounds more panicked than she wants to, despite the fact that a tutorial message has popped up on the screen, which has automatically paused the game.

Jake's body moves as he laughs, pointing at the screen. "Don't get all weird and panicked like we're playing the Jimmy Jabs, now. Be calm and collected, and use the information the game is giving you."

"Calm and collected. Okay." She takes a deep breath and squints her eyes a little to read the message on the screen. "Square sign to punch. Got it." She looks down to find the button with the square icon on it and presses it. The game is instantly unpaused and Batman punches one of the enemies in the face. "I did it! Oh no, what do I do?" Her cheers are barely understandable as panic once again seeps through it and she anxiously decides to keep pressing the square button while Jake is now roaring with uncontrolled laughter. Despite her frenzied button-mashing, Batman suffers only a few punches to the face until all enemies are permanently lying on the ground.

"Oh man." She takes in a deep breath to calm herself down. Jake wipes an escaped tear from his cheek.

"You'd make a horrible Batman if you continue to play like this." His words are still riddled with leftover chuckles which turn into laughter again when Joker says something and even more goons turn up, once again circling Batman.

"What? No way!"

"That's the Joker for you, Ames. He'll be throwing these at you a lot. And trust me, these are his incompetent henchmen. The big guys are much worse."

The game is automatically paused again, and Jake helps her find the triangle button which she should press whenever three blue lines appear above an enemy's head, as it should result in Batman parrying the attack. He notices how she's just barely registering all the information and can't help but add the circle and x button. She scolds him a little for being a confusing teacher, but he just waves it off and tells her he'll help her when she needs it.

Apparently, what he meant by that is that (while she was frantically pressing the square button), he'd reach over to the controller and press the rectangle button. It results in a short animation of Batman parrying an attack, successfully defending himself from enduring a hit to the head. More importantly, Jake can only reach the rectangle button by positioning his hand over hers, an action that makes the both of them tremble a little more than they want to. They don't speak about it, but he doesn't stop it, either. After all, Batman has to survive. (Or, that is what Jake tells himself.)

Amy has always been a good student, and tonight is no different. After the wave of enemies has been taken care of (Jake reminds her that Batman doesn't kill people, and that makes her feel better about herself) she has time to calmly think about what happened and she realizes that there is a logical pattern to follow. Square, and Batman automatically punches the closest enemy (or air, if she presses the button while not close to anyone at all), triangle to punch an enemy who's about to punch Batman, circle to stun enemies by using his cape (Jake tells her not to look for logic in a game that allows Batman to _fly_ ) and the x button to dodge. She even figures out how to use the batarang without the game telling her.

She breezes through the next part of the game while Jake sits back on the couch, munching on popcorn while telling her anecdotes of Batman's life. She comments about how everyone in the game seems to have a tragic back story, to which he replies that if he were a character in the DC universe, he'd most definitely be a superhero as well. He even paints her a colorful picture featuring Charles as his sidekick and Rosa as his menacing partner-in-crime solving. She asks him about the types of enemies he'd fight, and he tells her tales about the Vulture and Doug Judy (he'll think about a cooler name later).

He's in the middle of another story when suddenly the game pins her against Bane, a 6 ft 8 creature who expresses a high level of animosity towards Batman. In lieu of panicking, she reminds herself what she read about Killer Croc and wonders out loud what Bane's story is.

"We'll read up on his sad story later, he's going to kill you!" Jake exclaims. The tables appear to have turned this time, with Amy still contemplating Bane's story while he anxiously stirs next to her on the couch.

She frowns, deep in thought. "Hm, well, clearly there must be some sort of pattern to follow here if-" She's interrupted by Bane charging at Batman and taking 25% of his health bar. "Hey!"

She pushes on the L3 button while Batman moves around and once again, Bane charges forward. She presses the x button in an attempt to evade it, but Bane somehow still manages to hit Batman and once again, his health bar is drained. She gasps, feeling offended somehow. "That's just unfair. He's so big." She watches as Bane rips out a chunk of the wall and throws it in Batman's direction. Even though she anticipated it, she still failed to properly dodge it and the next thing she sees is a game over screen, along with a text that tells her to use the batarang while Bane is charging. "Great. _Now_ you tell me."

It takes Amy three tries to defeat Bane. She was close the second time, but by the final part of the fight, Bane has called for help and at least fifteen enemies surrounded Batman while Bane was still trying to attack. She succeeded the third time because she ran around the room trying to avoid the horde of enemies and focusing on the big guy instead.

Jake just sits next to her and watches her as the game goes to a cutscene after Bane has been defeated. She has a proud glow on her face and he can't help but think about just how beautiful she is.

It's impressive to him just how fast she is able to pick this up. He always knew she was book smart, he just didn't know that she also had the prowess in picking up hand-eye coordination skills this fast.

"What?" she says, after the cutscene ends and she finally notices that he hasn't been looking at the screen at all. Her cheeks flush just a bit.

"Nothing. Sorry."

 _If we were dating I'd kiss her on the nose right now._ He doesn't know where the thought comes from and how it was able to slip by the part of his brain that deals with logic. His eyes dart away, his mind suddenly fearful that she was somehow able to read his thoughts. _Where the hell did that come from?_

Admittedly, he knows he likes her. He likes her a whole lot. He's come to terms with the fact like Killer Croc came to terms with his fate as a villain. Still, she's made it pretty clear that she has no interest in being romantically involved with him. She's made it pretty clear when she said that she didn't want to date any cops anymore.

Still though, her eyes seem to say something different sometimes, and he doesn't know if he's objectively noticing that or if he's just seeing what he wants to see. Frankly, it's quite frustrating.

In the end, he goes by what she says and tells himself to back off because her words are the only thing he currently understands.

She continues to play for another hour as he continues to watch (the screen, not her).

(Okay, maybe her a little bit sometimes.)

Amy presses the start button to pause the game and leans back into the couch, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment. "It's fun, but it certainly drags on longer than a movie. What time is it?"

Jake grabs his phone and looks at the clock on the display. "Almost 22:30."

"I should probably not make it too late. I have some laundry to do tomorrow."

Because Jake doesn't want her to think that he really (really) wants her to stay, he chimed in, "Yeah, me too. Plus I've got a pile of dishes that unfortunately have my name on it."

She grins. "I noticed that bit."

Maybe it's because he thinks she's going to leave soon and that makes him feel a little bit more gutsy than his 4pm self, or maybe he ease with which this evening has passed them by has made him more confident in itself. "Hey, do you want to see what Batman sees?"

She looks at him with confusion. His eyes just sparkle with joy and he shoots up from the couch, biting his bottom lip to stop himself from holding out his hand for her like Aladdin did when he asked if Jasmine trusted him. That's a bit too cheesy, and he thinks that he'd only do that if they were in a relationship. _Again with the relationship thing, Jake? Really?_ He's glad there's no such thing as people reading other people's minds. (He hopes.)

Amy looks just as confused as a she did a few seconds ago, but follows him anyway as he puts on a pair of slippers and opens his front door. "I want to show you something cool."

"Uh, but-" She waves her hand in his tv's direction, indicating that both his tv and the console were still on.

He waves his hand dismissively and nods his head quickly, clearly impatient. "We'll be right back, I promise."

* * *

He takes her to the roof of the building.

"To get a load of that sick Batman view," he claims.

She doesn't buy it, but she gets anxious when she thinks about what else it could be. She questions if they're allowed to even be there, but he insists that they will be fine.

"Man, I wish I could fly," Jake mulls, his hands on his hips as he gazes over the edge, watching the cars pass by and the small shapes of people making their way through the darkened streets.

She joins him at the edge, her heart forgetting a beat when she realizes just how high that drop would be. "Don't we all."

"Hm," he murmurs, forehead crinkled as he remains deep in thought, and inches closer to the edge.

She feels her hand reach out to his arm to lightly grab it in order to stop him from moving too close. She doesn't tell him to be careful but the action implies her worry. He seems surprised at her touch, looking down at her hand on his arm.

Still captivated by the city lights, she's unaware of him staring at her hand, then her. After a while, he places a hand on her shoulder, indicating that he's moving back. He notices a roof box vent and sits down on it. She settles next to him, shivering a little because she was smart enough not to bring a coat, so there she is, freezing her ass off in the chilly wind of the night.

"Not only is it super scary up here," she begins, referring to what he said the first time they spent some time together on a roof. "it is also super cold."

"Sorry," he says with an apologetic look on his face. "I should've reminded you to bring a coat."

She doesn't really blame him, and just shrugs instead. "Whatever. We'll go back in a second anyway."

"Yeah." He pauses for a beat. "Or..." He also forgot to bring a coat, otherwise he would've taken it off and placed it around her shoulders. So he opts to put his arm around her, drawing her closer to him. She seems shocked at first, but he's slow enough to give her enough time to think about it and possibly push him away if she wishes.

She doesn't.

So they sit together, gazes now up at the stars, and Amy even shifts closer to him and rests her head on his shoulder. This all on her own account, no less. Jake can't remember the last time he's ever felt so happy.

Except he can, and the last time was also with her. This one blows the last out of the water though.

Their current closeness reminds him just how much he loves situations like this. He's doesn't think of himself as a romantic in the traditional sense. No, he just craves being intimate with someone. That comfort that washes over him when he's done being a coward. Feeling like everything's all right in the world: loving, while being loved. He thinks about how much he's bursting at the seams, his mind telling him 'no' while his heart is loudly protesting against it in his chest.

She picks up on that (his heart physically beating) and pushes herself away from him a little. He immediately misses her. "You okay, Jake?" she asks with that familiar innocence of hers. "Your... heart is racing."

He hopes that the darkness of the night sufficiently conceals his flustered cheeks. "Yeah, uh, that's because we're so high. Super scary, remember?"

She scrutinizes his face. He looks away while she does it. "This was nice, you know."

"Huh?" He looks puzzled. "What do you mean?"

She grins sheepishly. "The popcorn. Playing Batman. Hanging out on the roof. It was nice. I normally spend my Friday nights watching Netflix with a glass of wine while I make a list of household chores, which isn't that bad, I guess. But hanging out with you is fun, too."

This is the kind of honesty that seems to define their relationship. Jake swallows, working up the nerve to continue the conversation. "Is that what you want in the future?"

Now it's her turn to get confused. "What do you mean?"

"With a boyfriend, I mean. Is that how you want to spend your evenings with a boyfriend?" _Because I can be that for you. I can be anything for you._

The way he phrases the question rattles her a bit, but she decides to give him a proper answer anyway. "Yeah. Don't you?"

"Yeah." He just says. "Though not with a boyfriend. With y- with a girlfriend." He stumbles over his words awkwardly and coughs vehemently in a deliberate attempt to cover his words up.

Her heart momentarily stops. She's so close to him, of course she heard everything. "What did you say?"

"With a _girlfriend_." Jake repeats.

"No. No... you were about to say something different, and then you said girlfriend." Right now she's wandering in territory she usually works so hard for to avoid, but for some reason she doesn't feel like letting it go tonight.

He's about to mutter out a preposterous lie to explain what he could possibly mean with the letter 'y' but she decides she will not have any of that and puts a hand on his shoulder, which always seems to calm him down. "Tell me the truth, Jake."

He hesitates, then takes a deep breath. "Fine. Okay. Well, I know you said you didn't want to date any cops, and I respect that, but...I'm still not completely done with uh, getting _over_ it. I _will be_ over it someday!" He says the words with a smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes. It fades just as soon as it appears. "But I guess for now...I'm not over it yet. I still really like you. Romantic stylez."

She's stunned and he does what he always does when he find himself stuck in an uncomfortable silence. Fill it. With a lot of words.

Any words.

"Tonight just really reminded me about how I want to sit together forever and maybe look up at stars and get really cheesy as you get chilly and I put my arm around you because I'm dumb and I also forgot to bring a coat. Which, mind you, is a mistake I will not make again. My mother has raised me to be respectful of women and there's nothing respectful about making a lady freeze on top of a chilly building. I mean, why would I even take you up here? I honestly forgot what the hell I was thinking. It's really just-"

"Jake!" Her shout silences him in an instant. "I can't think with you blabbering on and on."

"Silence. Got it. I will let you think. Thinking, is something that I will allow you to do. Starting now."

Since he's finally shutting up, she wants to take her time to think about it. Think about the idea of _dating Jake Peralta_. Rationally look at all possibly outcomes. Maybe make a list of pros and cons. Get back to him within three days.

But right now, all she can think of is just how much she enjoys being with him. She feels carefree and loved, all because he's there with her. She doesn't think about the usual things she things about, like how awkward it'll be if it doesn't work out or how unprofessional dating your co-worker is. Instead, she thinks about just how real his feelings for her are. This guy, who claims he that emotions make him uncomfortable, has feelings for her that are pure and genuine.

"I had a great time tonight." Her voice is barely audible, but he hears it anyway. "And...I've been thinking, maybe it's not so bad to break a rule. Just this once."

He can't believe what he's hearing. "W- what are you saying?"

"I'm saying, maybe it won't be so bad to give this thing a shot," she wants to say, but "give this thing a shot" is not something she wants to say to a man who will most definitely pour his heart and soul out to her if she asked. So she decides to act instead of talking, placing a hand on the side of his face as she watches realization sink in.

"Are you sure?"

She nods.

That's his cue, and he leans closer, slowly, after all of that still allowing her the time to back out if she suddenly changed her mind. And then, the gap is closed between them and his lips are on hers. She tastes like the orange juice she was sipping and he tastes like the popcorn he was munching on.

His hands, which were previously next to her, are on her body, roaming for a place to settle as the kiss deepens. A soft moan escapes from his lips. The sound of it makes her shiver (she's sure it has nothing to do with the cold, because she feels like she's physically heating up). She eventually feels his hands on her lower back, tugging her closer to him ever so slightly. Her hand remains on his face while the other travels to the back of his head and plays with the hair on his neck.

She smiles, and he reciprocates it gladly.

And this moment, she realizes, gives her all the clarity she ever needed. She likes him too. Romantic stylez and all. She knows, because her heart is thumping in her chest and her hands want nothing else but to pull him closer to her, closer than humanly possible, and keep him there forever. She wants to spend more nights together like this. Not only kissing, but just having a good time. Enjoying each others' company.

He pulls away because they both need to catch their breaths. He keeps his forehead pressed against hers, the sensation of his lips still lingering on hers. He simpers, face glowing like he's just won the lottery.

"Romantic stylez?" he asks.

She nods. "Romantic stylez."

Their lips meet again for another kiss. This time it's brief, feels even more like home and melts into a hug. He has his face buried in her shoulder (she realizes he's still smiling) and she just holds him as she focuses on the way she can feel his heart beat against her chest.

And as he's holding on, she makes a mental note to himself that she needs to thank Savant for more than just borrowing Jake his PlayStation.

Or maybe she needs to thank Batman, who was clearly the best superhero detective ever.

**Author's Note:**

> So, what did you think? I just felt the need to write a one-shot after not having posted anything for a bit here. I do want to write more video game related stuff if people are interested. I was either thinking Jake and Amy (and possibly more people) playing Super Smash Bros together or them scaring the bajeebers out of each other while playing Outlast. If you want more, let me know which one you'd prefer first, or heck, if you think of a completely different game you'd like to see Jake and Amy tackle.


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